Thursday, February 13, 2014

Chapter 13 Searcher : Social Media & Stress

The readings for this week were mostly about stress,
its effect on health and how social interactions can cause it. In relation to
this week’s topic, I found three articles that show how humanity’s newest social
interaction, social media, can affect people’s amounts of stress.

The above hyperlink demonstrates how our connections
through the internet can aid in the copulation of harmful stress. Children on
the internet can be subjected to bullying behavior that can cause
stress-related adverse effects, such as anxiety and depression.

Another interesting link to check out is the above
link, which is about how women’s relationships with social media can stress them
out differently than men’s relationships with social media. Though much of the
stressors have roots in general societal problems, the internet magnifies
various stress-inducers. Specifically, the over-sexualization of women is
attributed to deeper societal problems, but the internet magnifies this
problem, causing much more oppression for women online through cyber bullying,
directly relating to increased stress.

As opposed to social media causing harmful stress, the
above hyperlink shows that the web can be used to relieve harmful stress. The
article shown above discusses a research study that tries to link an online stress-relief
program with lower levels of stress. The study concludes that professional internet
stress-relief programs, such as guided meditation or relaxation can help in
reducing harmful stress.

In conclusion, the various links shown above offer
insights on how social media has created a new way for people to become more
stressed, though social media also can act as a way for people to de-stress.